Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Christmas In NYC: Buying Your Own Tree

Every year, City Guy and I enjoy buying a real life Christmas tree from our favorite tree vendor, which happens to be set up along the sidewalk outside a school yard in Tribeca, near the Chambers Street stop. They sell trees (and tree accessories and decorations in the tent) until Christmas Eve, at which time, they'll probably have sold out of their inventory (though if there are any trees leftover, they mulch them).

We usually pick up our tree over Thanksgiving weekend, but since I was sick, we did it this weekend. Turns out this past weekend is traditionally the busiest for Christmas tree vendors, according to the woman who worked there.

We looked at 5-foot Balsam firs and Frasiers from Canada and the South and settled on a very symmetrical, pretty little Balsam fir for $85 plus tax (the Frasiers supposedly smell stronger and don't drop as many needles, but they're $100 and up). They will deliver for $20, but at this size, you can just hail a cab and it will fit perfectly into the trunk (though we tipped the cabbie extra as he seemed peeved about the dropped needles in his trunk).

I've noticed trees outside of Whole Foods and Zeytuna this year, so you could also try your local supermarket. Though, these trees at Zeytuna are not the same fragrant Balsams or Frasiers. What kind of tree is this?

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